The Meaning of Family
by Tsukisamu Sayako
Summary: Omi-centric. Omi befriends a new classmate who asks him about his family. Omi doesn't know how to answer that and thinks upon the matter. Only until his friends guide him does he see the real meaning of families and homes. A little bit of angst.


The Meaning of Family

By: Tsukisamu Sayako

Disclaimer: No, Weiß Kreuz is not mine; Omi-kun's himself and owned by his creators.  The fanfic's mine though, no plagiarizing.  I know who you are…

Author's Notes: Omi has a new friend at school and is asked about his family.    A little angst methinks in this fic—Omi's thoughts upon his family.

"blah"-normal dialogue

'blah'-thoughts (all Omi's in this fic)

~*~*~*~*~-scene change!

               'Family…

               What is a family, anyways?

               I don't have a family… do I?'

               "Oy, Omi!" Ken shouted at the teenager.  "You have deliveries to do."

               "Don't get yourself killed, ne?  Omittichi.  You seemed out of it today."

               "Gomen!  I was just trying to solve a homework problem," Omi lied, knowing perfectly well that that was the stupidest excuse he could've come up with.  After all, he didn't even have a piece of paper or pencil in front of him, much less then the problem.

               Ken and Youji looked at each other and shrugged, leaving Omi to his reverie.  Omi sighed in relief.  Then, he took the flower arrangements and loaded them onto the delivery scooter outside the shop.  He checked the map once again and set off.

               "See you later, minna-kun!" Omi waved at his friends as he drove the scooter past the front door.  Ken waved back with a smiled.  Then, after Omi turned on the first corner towards his first delivery destination, Ken walked back into the shop.

               "What do you think is bothering him?" he asked.

               "Who knows," said Youji.  Then, the bell on the front door rang.

               "Irrashimashite!" Ken said cheerfully and saw a teenager in school uniform entering the shop.  The boy was dark brown haired with a pair of brown eyes.  His eyes were worried and seemed to mark the boy's nervousness in the flower shop.

               "Um, does Tsukiyono-sempai work here?" he asked nervously.

               "Hai," Youji answered.  "He just left on a delivery route."

               "Oh," the boy's eyes were downcast.  Ken approached the shy boy and laid a hand upon the boy's shoulder.

               "Well, I'm sure that he'll be back soon.  He only has two deliveries to do today and both of them are not far from here," Ken said.  "My name's Hidaka Ken.  What's yours?"

               Omi's classmate looked up at the former J-League goalie and said in a more confident voice, "I'm Miyazaki Yamato.  Nice to meet you."  He raised his hand to shake Ken's hand and Ken gladly took the handshake.

               "Well, have a seat.  The afternoon rush is already over, but if you like, you can help clean up the mess that the girls left behind," Youji said, laughing.  Yamato grinned.

               "Sure, why not."

               "Here's an apron and a broom," said Ken, handing him the things.  Subaru gladly took them and started working.

~*~*~*~*~

               Omi now regretted taking the deliveries.  Twice already had he missed the first house to which he was supposed to deliver the flower arrangement with the roses and it took him another twenty minutes to finally deliver the second flower arrangement, such that when he was done, it had taken him forty minutes to deliver two flower arrangements that should have only taken him twenty minutes.

               "Shimatta," Omi cursed softly.  "Why can't I focus on the task at hand!?"  He felt like he was going to kill himself.  Indeed, throughout the delivery, only one thing came into his mind, and that was the thought about his family and home.  He laughed mirthlessly at those thoughts.

               His family was gone.  His father was killed by his teammate and to this day, Omi felt no remorse for the man who is his father, for Takatori Reiji had refused to paid for his freedom.  Next, he had killed his own brother, Masafumi, even though it was Aya-kun who had dealt the final blow to end his brother's life.  He didn't know that Masafumi was his brother then and now has to deal with the guilt that he had helped to end his family's heritage.  His other brother, Hirofumi, was killed by him with his own crossbow and Omi mourned quietly over his own brother as he sat on the bike under the gray moon with his brother's car crashing into the shoulder of the bridge.  Lastly, his half sister, Ouka, died in his arms.  She was shot by the beserker of Schwartz and to this day, Omi hates the insane man for doing what he had done.  His uncle was killed by his father; his mother committed suicide before he was kidnapped.  He had no family.  His family was dead.  Everyone, except him, is dead.

               He snapped out of his thoughts and hurried back to the flower shop, cursing his luck when there was a sudden downpour.  He enter the flower shop through the back door minutes after his classmate had left and entered into the main room looking like a drowned chicken.

               "Your classmate just left," Youji said.

               "Who?"

               "Miyazaki Yamato," Aya said.  Omi froze.  His friend was here?

               "W-what did he say?" Omi stammer a bit before controlling his speech.  The older men looked at him with suspicion.

               "He wanted to talk to you," Ken said, giving the teenager as little as possible as Omi was obviously not going to tell them what was going on.

               "About what?" Omi persisted.

               "What is going on Omi?" Youji asked, keeping the others from answering Omi's previous question.

               "Nothing," the young member of Weiß lied.

               "Don't lie Omi," Ken said.  Omi sighed and sat down in a chair next to the table where they make the arrangements.  He laid his head on the table and closed his eyes.  The three older men looked at each other and Youji and Ken went ahead and join Omi at the table.  Aya stayed where he was next to the register.

               "Do you remember your family, Aya-kun?" Omi's voice came from under the table as his face was facing downwards.  Aya was taken aback by the question.

               "Hai," Aya said.  "Why?"

               "Do you remember your family, Youji-kun?"  Youji looked at Omi with curiosity burning in his soul regarding the teenager.  Why was he asking about their families after working with each other for such a long time?

               "Why?" Youji asked.

               "Just answer yes or no," Omi said exasperatedly, seeming to get irritated by the fact that all of his friends had families but him.  He knew that fact well but was asking his friends nonetheless.

               "Hai."

               "Do you remember your family, Ken-kun?"

               "Hai."  Omi raised his head from the table.

               "That's the problem."

               "What, that we all remember our families?" Ken asked.

               "No, it's the fact that _we remember our families whereas __he doesn't that's bothering him.  Isn't it, Omi?" Youji said._

               "Omi," Aya started.  "Do you know what a family is?"  Omi looked at Aya with eyebrows raised.

               "Yeah.  A family is a group of people descended from a common progenitor."

               "No, that's not what a family is," Aya said.  Omi looked at Aya surprised at what Aya had said.  Aya left his usual spot by the register and sat down next to Omi at the table.

               "A family is a group of people that are related and get along with each other," Aya explained.  "It doesn't matter if they aren't related.  As long as they learn from each other and love each other, that's considered a family.

               "You might have the blood of Takatori running through your veins.  But Takatori is not your family.  They did not love you.  They abandoned you when you were kidnapped.  They forgot you; families don't forget their family members.  They are only your relatives and might be considered to be family by many, but when one has suffered like you have, or like we have, family is not of one's blood.  Family is who you live with, who you care and who cares for you."

               "You have a family, Omi," Ken said.  "Even if you don't recognize it, you have a family and a home."

               "My family…my home…" Omi said quietly.

               "You don't have to isolate yourself from others.  You must learn to accept world as it is and you should learn not to follow dictionaries too much," Youji joked.  The four laughed.

               "Arigato, minna-kun," Omi said gratefully, with tears of happiness in his eyes.  He grinned happily.  "Now I understand."

               'My family is my friends… Manx… Birman… Persia… Kritiker…

               My home is where I belong…here in the flower shop… here with my family… Youji… Ken… Aya… Minna…'

Owari

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Well, that wasn't so bad… considering the fact that I started around 11:30 and finished around 12:30 this morning.  ^^;  Anyways, that was interesting…  R/R plz???  ^______________________^  Arigato!

Now, I'm pondering if I should write a parody of "The Producers" using WK charas…  ^^;

Sayako

P.S.  You might notice the name Miyazaki Yamato in there… Decided to put him in there as Omi's new classmate… hehe!


End file.
